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Social Media FAQs

Why is social media marketing vital for my business?With 90% of small businesses actively engaging in social media marketing, it has become even more valuable than networking in person, says a report by Social Media Today. More and more consumers are basing their purchasing decisions on their online experience with the brand and social media is an ever-growing part of that experience. In a study by Mashable, 97% of respondents say that “yes, the online experience has influenced whether I buy a product or not.” By providing consumers with a well-rounded online experience, the good name of your brand will profit. Especially when consumers feel that content is worth sharing with friends. According to a Nielsen survey, the trust level is as high as 90% when our friends recommend us something.

The reputation of a brand is also being measured “socially”. The Realtime Report recently published that of the Twitter users who follow brands, half of them are more likely to buy products from the brands they follow and the majority – 6 out of 10 – of brand followers are likely to recommend a few of these brands (42%) or many of these brands (18%) to friends. Social media marketing lets you connect with consumers and give them something worth sharing with their friends.

What is social media?Social media is technically defined as Internet-based technologies that are used to connect to and communicate with a greater audience. This includes technologies like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Google+ and blogs. For your business, social media is the modern day word-of-mouth; a way to reach out to your consumers to get them talking about what you have to offer. The goal of social media marketing is to expand this conversation to include you, your consumers and those whom your consumer knows, i.e. your untapped market. TheNeue Züricher Zeitungcalls social media “the first line of communication” and is very much becoming such.

Who uses social media?Just about everyone. With the variety of social media sites available, there is a market for nearly every type of person. Jeff Bullas is currently reporting that Facebook has over 1 BILLION users with 60% of them being women; if Twitter were a country it would be the 12th largest in the world; two new members join LinkedIn every second; and YouTube is the third most visited website. Not to mention the wealth of niche sites that cater to those with specific interests.